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Botanica Ltd. Madagascar import

Discussion in 'Orchid Vendor FYI' started by naoki, Apr 18, 2017.

  1. AnonYMouse

    AnonYMouse aka Ree, the not-so-stealthy lurker

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    Such sad news!
     
  2. Chuck-NH

    Chuck-NH Well-Known Member

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    Hi all, just wanted to say I received Madagascar plants from Botanica today. Communication throughout from Brenda was excellent with frequent updates. And the plants (mainly Angraecoids) were much better looking and bigger than I would have expected. I also ordered a few from LA Orchids which will be later in the Summer.
     
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  3. naoki

    naoki Well-Known Member

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    Nice! Mine arrived on Thr, too! The package left Madagascar on June 20, so it took only 9 days. They are mostly in good conditions:
    DSC_0160.jpg

    (top L to R) Aerangis fastuosa var. françoisii, Aerangis seegeri, Erasanthe henrici x 2
    (bottom L to R), Angraecum drouhardii, Angraecum mahavavense, Angraecum platycornu, Angraecum pseudofilicornu, Angraecum scottianum, Beclardia macrostachya, Microcoelia gilpinae.

    E. henrici are huge; 2-3x of Malala plant, which I used to have! I hope Microcoelia and A. platycornu were a bit more streesed than others. I hope they will make it.

    And a couple more from Botanica's stock:
    DSC_0158.jpg
    (top, L to R), Aerangis brachycarpa, Angraecum equitans, Angraecum praestans, Brasiliorchis schunkeana, Cribbia confusa, Jumellea walleri, (2nd row, L to R) Christensonella pumila, Oeoniella polystachys, Rhipidoglossum rutilum, Rhipidoglossum xanthopollinium, (3rd row, L to R) Rodriguezia decora, Stenocoryne aureofulva, Tolumnia sylvestris
     
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2017
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  4. Chuck-NH

    Chuck-NH Well-Known Member

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    Hi Naoki, great haul...I have minimal experience with Angraecoids (only A. viguerii and magdalanae long term) so I only ordered a few. The common advice given regarding Angraecum culture is to never disturb the roots, divide, etc., so the big question is: they are obviously very disturbed so how best to acclimatize bare root Angraecoids imports? For most, I mounted with a little NZ Sphagnum and coconut fiber and placed in a shadier humid microclimate in the greenhouse and I will vigorously watch for disease, dehydration and hopefully new root initiation . For the Angraecum protensum, I was a little less sure. It was a large multi-growth plant, but looked like it may have been root pruned. I soaked in some fungicide and then potted in a lithophyte/terrestrial mix in a terra cotta pot. I know they like bright light, but am reluctant to put in such a spot until I see that it is stabilized. Does this sound like the right approach...any suggestions?
     
  5. naoki

    naoki Well-Known Member

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    I think so. But I don't have lots of experiences with Angraecoids, so I'm sure you know more than I do. For 20 or so species, I haven't had too much troubles with their acclimation, though. I also mount with a little bit of sphag since it is easier to observe what it is doing. More recently, I just pot them in med. bark: med. perlite (sponge rock): home made charcoal=2:1:1. I don't use fungicides, but I've heard that root-shield (Trichoderma) could help promoting root growth. I generally start with pure water (easiest to get hydration). Then I move to a little bit of Kelp product (Maxi Crop) as the phytohormones. If some plants look really stressed, I start with aspirin water (around 1-3 325mg tablet per gallon). But for plants which is in decent shape, I wouldn't use it. It is kind of a "stress signal", so growths could be suppressed in some plants. I also use fairly dim light until the leaves start to grow, too, since the lack of roots can't support a higher rate of transpiration.

    According to Stewart et al. (Angraecoid Orchids), A. protensum is lithophyte or terrestrial amongst rocks, 1600-2000m, Central highlands of Madagascar.
    Hillerman & Holst's book (An Introduction to the Cultivated Angraecoid Orchids) says that it should be potted in semiterrestrial mix and give good light (3000fc in summer). Some chilling and drying are probably beneficial, but they don't seem to be essential. It refuses to flower under low light. The locality: Mt. Analamamy, the Ambatofinandrahana area, Ivohibe.

    So I'm guessing that you are doing right!
     
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  6. Chuck-NH

    Chuck-NH Well-Known Member

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    Thanks Naoki...now it's wait and see.
     
  7. Chuck-NH

    Chuck-NH Well-Known Member

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    image.jpeg
    . Hi Naoki, starting to see some growth now. This is Jumellia teretifolia.
     
  8. naoki

    naoki Well-Known Member

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    Looks good, Chuck! I got J. teretifolia earlier with LOC, and it was one of the slower ones to start to grow for me.

    A few of them started to grow from Malala batch. I lost A. pseudofilicornu and Beclardia macrostachya, but I'm surprised that Microcoelia gilpinae, which looked pretty rough, started to show some sign of growths.
     
  9. DPfarr

    DPfarr Well-Known Member

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    I got a gilpinae a few years back in an LOC import and it's finally just starting to grow as it should!
     
  10. naoki

    naoki Well-Known Member

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    That's cool! I hope that it will flower soon! Do you keep it warm and pretty dry-end?
     
  11. DPfarr

    DPfarr Well-Known Member

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    Yes and yes. I had one a long time ago from Hoosier. Wish I took better care of it.
     
  12. naoki

    naoki Well-Known Member

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    Thank you for the info!
     
  13. Chuck-NH

    Chuck-NH Well-Known Member

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    Hi All,

    First bloom from the import early this Summer. Aerangis fuscata (I believe), although I'm not an Angraecoid expert by any means. I now have two Aerangis that should be cool or cool tolerant and we'll see how things do through the Winter.

    image.jpeg
     
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  14. naoki

    naoki Well-Known Member

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    Nice, Chuck. Mine (via LOC, from around Mar-April) are starting to flower, but later ones from Botanica are still adjusting for me!
     
  15. Chuck-NH

    Chuck-NH Well-Known Member

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    Hi Naoki, most of mine from the Botanica order have established. I got some plants from the LOC order in later in the Summer and about half didn't fare as well. I'm thinking importing cooler growers at that time of year is probably not the wisest thing. Also notice that the long, pendulous Angraecums had virtually no roots and seem very reluctant to send out new roots.